BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Daniel Dixon had lost his starting quarterback spot. He could have kept his head down during LSU week in 2000, but kept pushing forward.

In the second quarter of the Sept. 23 game, Dixon got his chance. Starter Thomas Cox struggled, missing on all five of his pass attempts. Dixon was ready and, on his first drive of the game in the second quarter, UAB went 72 yards on nine plays for its only touchdown, a 24-yard pass from Dixon to Leron Little.

Dixon finished the game 8 of 17 for 65 yards. UAB won 13-10 on Rhett Gallego's 32-yard field goal after Chris Brown's interception. It was LSU's last nonconference home loss. UAB and LSU play on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Tiger Stadium on ESPNU.

Daniel Dixon runs for a touchdown against Louisiana Tech in 1999. Dixon is still a big UAB supporter to this day (Jeff Roberts/Birmingham News)

"You say big memories? I don't know where you start," Dixon said. "It was Baton Rouge. We were expecting wild. It got a little wild at times, but it stayed fairly quiet most of the night. It got pretty loud a few times.

"We had some success running the ball. Offense was in spurts. The defense created some turnovers and took advantage of some mistakes LSU made."

Dixon was a starter for most of his career, but UAB's offense struggled at the start of the 2000 season and he was replaced by Cox.

"It all comes back on the quarterback," Dixon said. "I'll be the first to tell you that I didn't perform like I should have those first two games and we went in another direction, but I got an opportunity to play at the start of the second quarter.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't down about it, but that's part of it. What's best is best. You take it and go from there."

Dixon eventually lost his starting job again to Cox and later that year, Jeff Aaron took over, but he'll always have that game.

Today, Dixon is still a Blazer through and through. He's a season ticket holder. He's married with two boys (age 4 and 2) who are both in the Blazer Kids Club.

He'll be back at Tiger Stadium on Saturday with his brother-in-law, a big LSU fan who lives in Alabama. Dixon is an accountant at Progress Rail and lives in Springville with his family.

He's also a fan of the direction Garrick McGee has the program going.

"Myself, along with many others, we're excited for his leadership and his enthusiasm," Dixon said. "We're really looking forward to the things he's doing here.

I'm 100 percent behind UAB week in and week out. These kind of games, we've always had a history of playing good in these type games. I don't think players look at it as 'Ohh, it's an SEC team.' It's a football game."